hitherto confined to miracle and mystery plays, almost sprang into being. The queen delighted in shows, pageants, and all kinds of sports and entertainments. Encouraged by her favor, dramatists caught the enthusiasm of the age and became its true literary exponents. Shakespeare seized upon materials at hand and within a few years produced the historical plays by which he practically taught the nation their history. "England! England! and Good Queen Bess!" This was the exultant cry of the men whose imaginations leaped ahead and saw the place their little country was to play in the future.

One of the most characteristic productions of the age was Shakespeare's Tempest, although its relation to the times may not always be understood. The air was filled with rumors concerning newly discovered lands. No report was too wild to gain credence; no report of riches too great to be believed. Laying hold of this aspect of the matter, Shakespeare allowed his imagination to play riot with him; he pictured an island where everything was possible, and though he gave it location, as a matter of fact its true location was in the wild imaginations of his countrymen in the latter years of Elizabeth's reign.

CHAPTER V.

STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE ENGLISH PEOPLE AND
DESPOTIC KINGS.

The dying Elizabeth named James VI. of Scotland as her successor. Son of Mary, Queen of Scots, he was the nearest surviving heir to the throne and without opposition he was accepted by Parliament.

So far as Protestant and Catholic were concerned, it had already been decided that England would be Protestant; the remaining question was: would it be Anglican or Puritan? The main political issue for years was to be: should the power of the king remain unrestricted—as under the Tudors it had practically been or were the people to have an equal or superior power in the land?

James brought with him the theory that he was accountable for his actions neither to Parliament nor the English people; that from God alone he derived his power and to God alone he was responsible. This theory came to be known as the divine right of kings. Two dissatisfied factions soon existed in the kingdom: those who were in favor of the Puritan form of worship and who saw that the Anglican Church, or Church of England, was to be regarded as the one and only legitimate church in the realm; secondly, those who believed that Parliament should have vital force in the government.

The English people felt hostile towards Spain but James was determined to negotiate a marriage between his son Charles and the Spanish princess. For some time the king yielded to repeated humiliating demands made by the Spanish ambassador prior to such an alliance. Finally the prince was sent to Spain with one of his father's ministers but the union seemed as unlikely at that stage of the negotiation as before. At last the proposal was withdrawn and Charles was married to Henrietta Maria of France. While the French king's daughter was also a Catholic this marriage was less distasteful to the people

generally than the one first planned. Nevertheless, Henrietta Maria was not destined to win the hearts of her new subjects. All petitions made by the Puritans for a simplified form of worship, abolition of the Episcopal organization of bishops, etc., and change of doctrine were refused. However, being well educated, James appreciated the plea made for a new translation of the Scriptures, it being urged that the common version did not conform to the original. To this end he had scholars appointed to prepare a new translation. This work was faithfully done and the King James version of the Bible is the one most commonly in circulation today.

The dissatisfaction felt by the Catholics at the restrictions laid upon them found expression in the Gunpowder Plot, planned by the most radical. A bold plan was made for the destruction of both houses of Parliament, king and ministers on the opening day of Parliament, a quantity of gunpowder having been stored in the cellar of the Parliament building to be set fire at the right moment. Anxiety of one concerning a Catholic friend led to the discovery of the direful plot. As a result more severe ordinances were passed concerning those of Roman faith.

It was during King James' reign that the first successful English settlements were made in the New World. In 1607 the London Company planted a colony at Jamestown on the James river, and in 1620 the Pilgrim Fathers landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts, and founded the first Puritan settlement in New England. These primitive hamlets were destined to grow beyond all expectation.

King James' reign was not a happy one, although it was prosperous. The difficulty was that the king wanted certain things which his subjects did not want. He wished to bring about a closer union between his two kingdoms, England and Scotland. Long jealousies existing between the two countries caused the people to desire no closer union than they then had. James desired greater toleration for Catholics and more stringent measures taken toward the spread of Puritanism. The people were fast becoming more inclined to the Puritan point of view. The king wanted to keep peace; the people wanted to help the Protestant states of Germany now engaged in a terrible war with the Catholic German states. When the king